Today, the Church commemorates the presentation of Mary at the Temple by her parents, Anna and Joachim. Although the feast has no basis in the scriptures, it has a long tradition in Catholic and Orthodox churches. There are several stories linked to this tradition. One is that Anna and Joachim were childless, and having received a heavenly vision that they will have a child, they brought Mary to the Temple to consecrate her to God. Another is that she was taken to the Temple at around the age of three in fulfilment of a vow. There is also a story that she remained there until she was twelve years old to prepare herself to become the mother of Jesus. The key point in these stories is to show that even in her childhood Mary was completely dedicated to God.

Gradually, there emerged in the Church the belief of Mary as the new Temple, in which God comes to dwell in human form. It echoes the revelation found in the Book of Zechariah which calls upon Israel to rejoice because the Lord comes to dwell among His people. And "on that day" many nations will join themselves to the Lord. With the coming of Jesus, the salvation of God has gone beyond Israel to the whole of humanity, "to anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven..." Today's feast is a reminder of our Baptism when we became an adopted child of God, who came to dwell in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It was our own moment of dedication to the Lord.